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Unit 7
Worlds apart
A Passage
to India
by E M Forster
(1924)

The author and the novel

E M Forster was born in London in
1879 and studied and lectured at
Cambridge University. His other
well-known novels are Howard’s
End and A Room with a View.
They all concern personal relations
and the problem of communication
between different classes and
cultures. A Passage to India is
about Mrs Moore’s and Miss Adela
Quested’s visit to India over 80
years ago. At that time the Indians
called the English gentlemen
‘sahibs’ and the English ladies
‘memsahibs’.

About the extract

Mrs Moore has just arrived in India to visit her son, Ronny, who is the City Magistrate, an important
legal position. Adela Quested has accompanied Mrs Moore to India and it is expected that she will
marry Ronny in due course. They are attending a social evening at the club for English residents
where a play called Cousin Kate is in progress. Mr Turton, an official with the title of ‘the Collector’,
is also present. (The extract has been divided into five sections)

Discussion
➲ Why do people like to visit countries far away from their own?
➲ What difficulties might you come across in the first few days of your visit to such a
different country?

1 The third act of Cousin Kate was well advanced by the time Mrs Moore
re-entered the Club. Windows were barred, lest the servants should see their
memsahibs acting, and the heat was consequently immense. One electric fan
revolved like a wounded bird, another was out of order. Disinclined to return
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TIMESAVER EXTRACTS 2 A Passage to India

5 to the audience, she went into the billiard-room, where she was greeted by
‘I want to see the real India’. This was Adela Quested, the queer, cautious girl
whom Ronny had commissioned her to bring from England, and Ronny was
her son, also cautious, whom Miss Quested would probably though not
certainly marry, and she herself was an elderly lady.

10 2 ‘I want to see it too, and I only wish we could. Apparently the Turtons
will arrange something for next Tuesday.’
‘It’ll end in an elephant ride, it always does. Look at this evening.
Cousin Kate! Imagine, Cousin Kate! But where have you been off to? Did you
succeed in catching the moon in the Ganges?’
15 The two ladies had happened, the night before, to see the moon’s
reflection in a distant channel of the stream. The water had drawn it out, so
that it had seemed larger than the real moon, and brighter, which had pleased
them.
‘I went to the mosque, but I did not catch the moon.’
20 ‘The angle would have altered – she rises later.’
‘Later and later,’ yawned Mrs Moore, who was tired after her walk. ‘Let
me think – we don’t see the other side of the moon out here, no.’

3 ‘Come, India’s not as bad as all that,’ said a pleasant voice. ‘Other side of
the earth, if you like, but we stick to the same old moon.’ Neither of them
25 knew the speaker, nor did they ever see him again. He passed with his
friendly word through red-brick pillars into the darkness.

4 ‘We aren’t even seeing the other side of the world; that’s our complaint,’
said Adela. Mrs Moore agreed; she too was disappointed at the dullness of
their new life. They had made such a romantic voyage across the
30 Mediterranean and through the sands of Egypt to the harbour of Bombay, to
find only a gridiron of bungalows at the end of it. But she did not take the
disappointment as seriously as Miss Quested; for the reason that she was
forty years older, and had learned that life never gives us what we want at the
moment that we consider appropriate. Adventures do occur, but not
35 punctually. She said again that she hoped that something interesting
would be arranged for next Tuesday.

5 ‘Have a drink,’ said another pleasant voice. ‘Mrs Moore – Miss Quested
– have a drink, have two drinks.’ They knew who it was this time – the
Collector, Mr Turton, with whom they had dined. Like themselves, he had
40 found the atmosphere of Cousin Kate too hot. Ronny, he told them, was

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TIMESAVER EXTRACTS 2 A Passage to India

stage-managing in place of Major Callendar, whom some native

subordinate or other had let down, and doing it very well; then he turned
to Ronny’s other merits, and in quiet, decisive tones said much that was
flattering. It wasn’t that the young man was particularly good at the games
45 or the lingo, or that he had much notion of the Law, but – apparently a
large but – Ronny was dignified.
562 words
A Passage to India by E M Forster. This edition Penguin Books 1936, pages 42-43

Glossary
lest (line 2): in case, to make sure that let down (line 42): not done what they had
something will not happen promised to do
billiard room (line 5): a place to play billiards, lingo (line 45): an informal word meaning a
a game like pool or snooker language, usually foreign
commissioned (line 7): asked
gridiron of bungalows (line 31): houses with
a ground floor only, arranged in organised
lines

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TIMESAVER EXTRACTS 2 A Passage to India

Reading comprehension There are five sections to the text. Choose

Matching headings the most suitable heading for each section
from the list of headings below. There is
a A walk in the moonlight ■■■■ one you will not need to use.
b Discussing someone’s good points ■■■■
c A problem with servants’ pay ■■■■
d Expectation and reality ■■■■
e A mother, a son and a potential fiancée ■■■■
f A passing stranger ■■■■

Reading Comprehension In the following four questions, choose

Multiple choice the best answer a, b, or c.

1 Adela Quested
a wants to return to the audience.
b likes being with English people at the Club.
c would like to get a clearer idea of the country and its people.
2 The two ladies
a would like to see the reflection of the moon in the river.
b would like to go on an elephant ride.
c are impressed by Cousin Kate.

3 Mrs Moore
a is forty years old.
b was able to accept her disappointment about India quite easily.
c is not a punctual person.

4 Mr Turton
a was acting as stage manager.
b did not want to see the rest of Cousin Kate.
c was not particularly good at games.

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English in use/Use of English Look again at these five adjectives and five
Word formation verbs which have been taken from the
text.
cautious decisive distant Each word is placed at the end of a new
pleasant romantic sentence below. Change the form of the
word to fit the new sentence. You will need
to make nouns, adjectives or adverbs. The
agree alter consider
first one has been done as an example.
hope succeed

■■■■■■
1 The police officer told the motorist to drive with caution in future. (cautious)
2 Choosing the person to marry is one of the most important ■■■■■■ you will ever make.
(decisive)
3 In the 1500 metres final, the ■■■■■■ between the first two runners was only half a
metre. (distant)
4 It was really a■■■■■■ to see you again after so many years. (pleasant)
5 Novels about adventure and ■■■■■■ in an exotic location are always popular. (romantic)
6 It took the committee five hours to reach ■■■■■■ on the new proposal. (agree)
7 Are you going to make any ■■■■■■ to that old house, now that you’ve bought it? (alter)
8 There is a ■■■■■■ difference in price between buying a wedding dress and hiring one.
(consider)
■■■■■■ . (hope)
9 ‘The exam shouldn’t be too difficult.’ said the student
10 Captain Scott wanted to reach the South Pole first, but he was ■■■■■■ . (succeed)

Discussion
➲ If you lived in a totally different foreign country for several years, what would you miss
most about your own country?
➲ Would you prefer to visit several countries for a short time or one country for a longer
time? Why?

Writing
An English teacher you know is planning to bring a group of English teenagers to visit your town for
two weeks in the summer. Write a letter to him/her giving advice on how best to prepare for the
trip, what to bring with them and how to avoid problems. Give some details of the places of
interest to be visited. Write about 200-250 words.

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